Penn State debuts retro game jerseys

Cory Giger

Special to The Sentinel

Penn State football announced their "generations of greatness" uniform that the team will wear for the September 30 game against Indiana during a press conference on Thursday, June 15, 2017. White cleats like those worn in the 1979 Sugar Bowl and stripped socks the Nittany Lions wore from 1970-1972 are part of the uniform. (Abby Drey/Centre Daily Times via AP)

UNIVERSITY PARK — Penn State will pay homage to its tradition with a throwback uniform featuring various aspects of past styles during its “Generations of Greatness” game Sept. 30 against Indiana at Beaver Stadium.

The retro uniforms will be part of an overall theme for the day that will transform the stadium and fans back in time to the 1950s, with music and entertainment coming from that era.

“Penn State has such a great tradition and history, and we wanted to find a way to honor and celebrate those Generations of Greatness,” coach James Franklin said.

“We are going to do so with a throwback game, where we’ll have an old-school scoreboard and other game day activities and then again with the uniform and pulling elements from many different uniform design elements through the years.”

Franklin said the players “went berserk” with happiness when they saw the uniform to be worn for the game, which includes mixing and matching of various elements from past PSU uniforms. Some of the more noticeable changes include:

¯ Numbers on helmets (from 1959-61, 1967-74)

¯ White cleats (1979 Sugar Bowl)

¯ White stripe on sleeve (1957-66, 1982-89, 1992-2011)

¯ Stripe on pants (1952-68)

¯ Gray face mask (1959-86)

¯ Black inside collar (1959 Liberty Bowl)

¯ Block uniform numbers (1950s and ’60s)

The changes will be more subtle and specific, and will not drastically change the classic Penn State look.

“With the history and tradition that we have, we don’t have to reinvent ourselves,” Franklin said before later adding, “Anybody that turns TV on won’t be trying to figure out who it is playing.”

The school worked with Nike on the changes, and the process took more than a year. Franklin first talked about the idea three years ago with longtime equipment manager Spider Caldwell, who was able to retrieve past uniforms to show Franklin so they could pick elements to choose.

Franklin said the players were most excited about wearing the white shoes.